


Two Loves, but One True

by Fluffy_Little_Bunny



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 01:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffy_Little_Bunny/pseuds/Fluffy_Little_Bunny
Summary: Alaine, an amnesiac, finds herself in the land of Valentia. Soon after being captured, fragments of her past begin to emerge. Overwhelmed, she escapes and starts on a journey to recover them. With only the memory of her ancestors, she is thrown into the war between Rigel and Zofia. While running, she runs into Alm's party, where her journey of remembering begins.





	1. Foreign Land, No Memories

**Author's Note:**

> This might take a while to complete only because I am replaying the game as much as possible so I make sure to hit every plot point. Please keep in mind this is following Alm's path, sorry if you were hoping otherwise.

A sudden lurch wakes me up from my slumber. My eyes flash open as I feel a sharp blow to the back of my head. Groaning, I shakily stand up and try to take in my surroundings. The area appears slightly hazy as I recover. Soon, the room comes into focus and I realize I’m in a storage room. Not really sure how I got here, not like I can remember much at the moment anyway. When I realize I can’t remember anything, I start to panic. The more I search the depths of my brain, I come up with more and more blackness. The only things I can find is my name, Alaine, and the names of my ancestors, Princess Corrin and Prince Takumi. My breath quickens as I realize I can’t remember anything about my life and who I am. Instinct tells me that panicking, especially in my situation, won’t help. I calm my breathing and tell myself that I need to be focused on getting out of here and gathering information.

  
Carefully, I climb on top of the stacks of boxes surrounding me to look for a method of escape. On the opposing wall, is the only exit to this room. Lightly, I hop from box to box, careful not to make a sound. I jump down from the last box and reach out toward the doorknob. Just as I’m about to turn the knob, I stop when I hear two men’s voices on the other side of the door.

 

“Come on. We need to check that the cargo is all okay after that massive wave hit.”

 

Quickly, I wheel around and dive behind the nearest box. _Great, I’m on a boat. I can’t escape anywhere._ The door opens and I hold my breath. They walk by me and pick up a few boxes that fell. Most of the boxes just shifted, so they left them alone. I observe their clothes and then look down at mine.

  
My outfit comprises of a light pink dress with a button spotless white leather sleeveless jacket. On the jacket are gold embellishments and red jewels. I have heeled boots and arm cuffs that are made of black leather, also with gold embellishments and red jewels. There is a bright red shoulder guard on my left shoulder. The brown strap of leather that holds the shoulder guard on wraps around my body to also hold a sword on my side. Embedded in the sheath is a big blue stone. On my head is a gold headband. I slip it off to see what I look like because I forgot that too. My light brown hair with red tips is long and slightly wavy. My pupils are red, though my left eye is covered by bangs.

  
Somehow the two crew members didn’t notice me moving around and my flashy clothing. They left the room, chatting as they left. I got up, leap over the box I was hiding behind, and draw my sword. The hilt is covered in red leather, while the butt and hilt guard is covered in gold. The blade itself is long, thin and silver. There is gold wrapping around the base of the sword, which extends almost the entire length of the blade. The peninsula of gold has red jewels on it. _Wow, I must have a thing for gold and red._

  
I keep my blade drawn as I once again prepare myself to open the door. I fling open the door, thankfully finding no one. Knowing I’d have to steal some ratty clothes to change into if I wanted a chance at getting off the boat unharmed, I sheath my sword and set out to find a female crew member.   
Somehow I didn’t run into any crew below deck in their maze of hallways. I was thankful when I got up onto the actual deck because there are way more things to hide behind. Slipping behind the nearest object, I peek out to scan the deck. There are men all over the massive deck, but not a woman in sight. Hoping that there are women elsewhere I try to creep back downstairs. As luck would have it, I open the door to the stairs and a woman is standing right there. She screams in fright, alerting the entire deck of my presence.

  
Quickly I draw my blade and try to work my way past the woman, but she pulls out a knife and thrusts at me. My reflexes react for me and I dodge the blade. I must have fought a lot because my body naturally reacts and I quickly disarm her. Sadly, though I made it a quick fight, that fight allowed enough time for some other crew members to surround me. Deciding surrender was the best option, considering I was surrounded by seven large, burly men all holding weapons, and I didn’t know what to do in this situation.

  
One of the men comes up and roughly grabs my sword from my hands. I protest because deep down, I feel like it is special. When an ax is placed at my throat, I smartly decided to shut it. My hands are tied behind my back, and I am forced to walk over to where the captain must be.

  
At the stern of the boat is another large, burly man with his hands crossed behind his back. He speaks in a low, harsh tone without turning around, “This is the hideaway that was making a ruckus on the other side of the boat. How dare you let a pest like this even make their way on this boat! Here I was, observing Zofia castle, where our prince Berkut is staying, and my concentration was broken by you fools. If you hadn’t captured the hideaway, I would’ve killed you all here, right now. Now, show me the fool who decided to come aboard this boat!”

  
I am roughly shoved forward, causing me to trip. As the captain turns around, I am forced to tilt my head up to look at him.

  
“This puny little girl is the one that gave you all this trouble?” The question seems skeptical.

  
Clearly, I have a death wish because I spat back, “This puny girl can hear you, and yes, I gave your pathetic crew all this trouble. Now call me a fortune teller because I have a prediction that you’ll call me feisty because I’m a woman and I don’t act like your stereotypical woman, you sexist pig.”

  
The crew stares at me in shock, and the captain stands there with his mouth gaping like a fish until he smartly decided to close it. His eyes flash from shocked to angry and he grabs me by my chin and lifts me up, his rancid breath in my face as he growls, “Consider yourself lucky girlie that we’re heading to Zofia castle right now. We have a scheduled time we have to arrive by, and if we didn’t, we’d have some fun here before killing you. On the other hand, I think we’ll make you an additional present to General Berkut. From what I’ve heard, you’d probably be better off being killed here, but I lost all my mercy for you when you decided to talk back to me.”

  
With that, he releases my chin and sends me tumbling to the ground. There I lay until the boat arrives in the harbor.

  
No sooner had the boat been tied to the dock, I was forced up to my feet and pushed onto a cart where the rest of the cargo would later join me. Most of the crew piled into other carts, while some stayed on the ground to help lead the horses and carts to the castle.

  
The ride to the castle was surprisingly comfortable. Yes, I was bound up so much I wasn't able to escape, and I was sitting on a wooden cart where you could feel every little bump, but I was as comfortable as someone could be that tied up on a wooden cart. As we neared the castle, I gasp in awe of it. The sheer size of it was amazing, and I could tell that the inside looks amazing based on the amazing detail on the outside. Yes, I know I said "amazing" a lot. Upon closer inspection, I can tell that the castle had just been through an attack because parts of the castle look to be in ruins.

  
After getting through the front gate, the crew unloads everything and starts to bring the boxes inside. The captain grabs me and drags me through castle halls until we reach a pair of huge doors. Releasing me for a moment, he throws open the doors before grabbing me again and walking in. We walk into what seems like a huge ballroom. The ceilings are arched high, and the room seems to sparkle gold. On the opposite end of the room are two figures. One is a tall, dark man and the other is a tinier woman with long blue hair.

  
Next, to me, the captain gets down on one knee and says, “Pardon the intrusion my Prince Berkut. My crew and I have brought the most recent shipment in of provisions and along the way, we managed to pick up two presents for you.”

  
The man named Berkut turns around and smirks at me before stating, “And what a lovely present you brought. Not sure what I’ll do with her, but I’ll think of something. You said you brought two presents, what is the other one?”

  
The captain reaches back and pulls out my sword. “This was found on the girl. It seems to be a very high level of craftsmanship,” he says as he presents the sword to the prince.

  
“Excuse me Rinea,” Berkut kindly says to the woman next to him before walking over to me. He leans down and looks me in the eye and commands, “Tell me your name.”

  
Boldly, I look him back in the eye and say, “My name is Alaine. Besides that, I remember none of who I am and how I got here.” Though I know about my ancestors being of royal blood, I decide to keep my mouth shut in case of my kingdom being an enemy to this one.

  
He raises an eyebrow when I tell of my memory loss but proceeds to speak, “Quite convenient that you don’t remember who you are, considering you were just found upon one of the Rigelian Empire’s boats. Your clothes are also to well made for you to be a commoner. From the look of things,” his voice sharpens, “You look to be part of those pathetic rebels, the Deliverance.”

  
I respond sharply to his accusation, “I have no reason to lie about my memory loss. And say I am in this group called the deliverance, then why would I be here now telling you my name. As I said before, I remember nothing of my past, so I do not know why I am wearing these clothes. I do know one thing, that that sword is mine.”

  
Berkut stands up before me and tells the captain, “Release her and hand her her sword.”

  
Shocked, the captain starts sputtering an argument before starting to release me under Berkut’s glare. I too am shocked and ask, “Why?”

  
“I am testing your worth. If you can survive a fight against me for five minutes, I’ll let you live and you become one of my generals.” Berkut says as a servant runs in and hands him a javelin.

  
“What if I do not wish to become your general and I survive?” I question.

  
Coldly he responds, “Then you die.”

  
Not wanting to die, I let the captain untie me and take my sword in hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the girl called Rinea slip out of the room. Facing Berkut, I steady my sword and he declares, “Let us dance.”


	2. Escape

Both Berkut and I ready our weapons as the room grows silent. Then, when the room became so quiet you could break it into like glass, Berkut charged. Despite wearing armor, he moves quickly and agile. Shocked by his mobility, my reaction speed is slow. I was barely able to dodge as Berkut lunged at me, but just enough that his blow ricocheted off my shoulder guard. Still, the blow was strong enough to make me stumble back and for a shock to travel down my sword arm. I took a step away from him to assess the situation.

  
My body instinctively moves to counteract him, meaning I must have been trained before, but when and where? It doesn’t take a smart person to realize that his attacks mainly will consist of jabs due to the nature of the javelin. As of right now, my body is doing all the work but my mind is doing next to none. I don’t know any particular strategies or moves right now, but if I don’t come up with them fast I might get skewered! As if he knew I thought I might get skewered, he aims a jab at my mid-section.

  
I sidestep and try an uppercut. His other hand shoots out to attempt to block, but he is too slow. A trail of blood starts flowing down his cheek as I slash it open. Out of the corner of my eye, I see he has balled his fist up to punch me, so I retreat backward. But, he grabs me and wraps me in a crushing hug. I squeak in surprise not only for the sudden movement but for the fact he is crushing my ribs. _Is he is attempting to kill me by squeezing me to death?!_  
Then he raises his lance to strike me and doing as any reasonable woman would do, I kick him between the legs. His grasp on me weakens considerably and I manage to push him off. He falls on to his knees, hunched over in pain. I take my sword and level it at his head.

  
“Well, looks like I won,” I announce.

 

Berkut glares up at me defiantly and growls, “Not yet.”

  
My eyes widen at his declaration. _I am the one with a sword that is pointing at his head, right?_ I ask myself. I get what he means when his lance swings up fast and catches me on my hip where my sheath is. His lance hits right where the stone is inlaid into it.

  
All of a sudden, I feel something rising in me. My sword clatters to the ground as I drop it, and Berkut has a very surprised look on his face as I double over in agony from the burning sensation. The room turns red as I am taken over by the mysterious sensation. I black out.

  
When I come to, I am laying in a small bed with pure white sheets. I look over and see Rinea sitting next to the bed snoozing. Contemplating running for it, I quietly get out of bed and head to the door, but I get caught before I can get out.

  
“Oh, you’re awake. I see you’re well enough to get up, but you really shouldn’t. Would you like a glass of water?” Rinea asks kindly.   
“Ummm, sure,” I respond.

  
Rinea leans over to the nearby bedside table and pours a glass from the pitcher. She hands it to me as you waves her hand over at the bed, motioning I should sit down. Heading back over to the bed, I sit down. I realize now that bed is very comfortable, which makes me wonder why would they put me in such a nice room. Rinea hands me the glass of water, I take it and start to drink it. The slightly chilled water helps my dry throat.

  
As I’m drinking my water, Rinea gets up, bows and politely says, “Now, if you could, please stay here. I’m off to get Lord Berkut. He has some questions about your transformation.”

  
I almost choke on the water. _Transformation? What is she talking about?_ Just as she starts to leave the room, I get up and grab her arm.

  
With desperation in my voice I plead, “Please don’t go. I have no clue what you’re talking about and I’d much rather you explain that Berkut.”

  
Gently removing my hand, she calmly replies, “Okay. And Berkut isn’t that bad of a man, he is just under a lot of pressure,” she gestures me to sit down, “Anyway, before I tell you what happened, I must ask; do you really remember nothing of your past?”

  
Folding my arms, I ask, “And if I did, why would I tell you?”

  
“Maybe we could use the information to help you find out the rest of your past.”

  
I never thought about it that way, but I still must be wary. “Fine, but only if you tell me what kingdoms aren’t in favor with yours.”

  
She nods and says, “Well, the only one is Zofia, a land south of here. Lord Berkut’s uncle wants to conquer it to united the two kingdoms. Otherwise, we have no enemies or disagreements with other kingdoms.”

  
Though I can’t remember the kingdom of where I came, I have a gut feeling it isn’t called Zofia, so I decide to tell her what I know.

  
I blurt out, “I am of royal descent of Princess Corrin and Prince Takumi.”

  
There is no change in her expression as she nods, and walks out.

  
Ten minutes later, Berkut enters with Rinea on his arm. He still has his armor on, but he looks pained.

  
"Wow, took you long enough," I sass.

  
Coldly he responds, "I am not in the mood to deal with your sass girl."

  
I notice there is a slight irregularity in his breathing as he says this, so I question him, "Is there something wrong with you? You're breathing is irregular."  
He gruffly says, "You really don't remember. Maybe it's best if I show you. Rinea, help me."

  
She silently gives consent and helps him remove his armor. Underneath is a terrible sight. Extremely bloody bandages are wrapped around his chest and his side. I gasp in surprise and terror. The sight makes me want to vomit. Wet blood shows the outline of the injuries. Five long gashes cover his chest with a singular gash on his side.

  
I choke out, "What... how... this is terrible. Why are you walking? You should be resting with those injuries!"

  
"I just had to see the person who caused me those injuries," he remarks, smirking, "And honestly, I'm surprised you're up this late. It's been an entire day and these injuries are still bleeding."

  
Guilt rises up in me. _I did that. I almost killed a man. I cut open his chest with gods knows what._ Not knowing what to do, I gulp and attempt to say sorry. Nothing comes out.

  
"You transformed into a dragon. How you did that, that is what I will find out. You practically ripped my armor off as you slashed my chest. However, I will hold to my word and you are now one of my generals. Granted you will be watched at all times. I must go lay down now. My guards will escort you to your room," Berkut explains, filling in my silence.

  
After saying his piece, he turns to leave, but not before glaring over his shoulder and sternly saying, "I want you to search your mind and find an answer to this phenomenon. I expect it in the next week or so, regardless of what you complain. Also, let me make clear that if you ever pull this on me again, I will not hesitate to execute you."

  
Leaving me on that cheerful note, he leaves.

  
Just as Rinea is about to head out again, I ask her, "Would it be possible if you could grab me my sword, please? I blacked out after Berkut hit my sword, so maybe there is a hint in my sword. I promise I'll only use it for memory triggering purposes."

  
Of course, I wasn't just going to use my sword for that, and I can tell Rinea knows as well. _Why would she go along then?_

  
She nods, and a few minutes later, my sword is in my hand. I draw it from its sheath and examine it. Not a single nick or scratch, meaning it is either well made or hasn't seen many fights. Switching my attention to the sheath, I closely examine the stone embedded in it. I stroke it. As soon as I do, I feel a sharp shock at my fingertips. A slightly hazy memory resurfaces.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"You are the ocean's gray waves..."  
Laughing voices  
A young boy, with light blue hair, singing  
"Here you go, Alaine! Here is the stone of your great-great-great grandmother."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When I am brought back to reality, I am gasping and starting to perspire. Nothing was clear, but I knew it had to do with the stone. Glancing at it, I whisper, "What are you?"

  
My head snaps up when I hear approaching footsteps. I narrow my eyes; it must be the guards. Gripping my sword's hilt tightly, I prepare myself to fight. There is no way I'm staying here.

  
Determination burning inside of me, I lunge forward and swing in a deadly arc. I catch two guards that are coming through the door right in the stomach. My blow is strong enough to slash through the armor, but not strong enough to leave anything more than a shallow cut. A third guard draws his sword as the other two hold their abdomens. Quickly, I duck as he swings and I smash my sheath into the others' faces. Both of them drop to the floor groaning as they hold their bleeding noses. I twirl around and manage to deal with the last one with a stab through his thigh. Knowing it won't be long before someone finds them, I run.

  
Weaving through the maze of a castle, I try and avoid as many people as possible. It is impossible to avoid all human contact, but I think I startled them too much for them to stop me. It's not every day a lady is sprinting and waving a sword, I hope... Just when I feel like collapsing from all the running, I find side door out. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I sprint out of the door and don't look back.


	3. I Meet Another Crazy Prince (I Just Don't Know It Yet)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be on a short one or two week hiatus since AP testing and my 15th birthday is coming up. In this time, I will come back and make slight edits and changes to posted chapters to improve them, but I will not be posting any new chapters.

As soon as I’m out of that door, I am once again in the open. Dashing across the empty space, I reach the wall. Either I somehow get through here or I have to sneak around the entrance, but that is risky. There is no telling if I can get out here this way. Hoping to not have to bust through the entrance, I start poking around the wall. Though I search every reachable crevice, I find nothing. Next, I search through the few crates I found. There are only a few, but luckily they seem to have things in them. When I crack them open with my sword I find only food. Shaking my head in disappointment I am about to give up. *clip clop* I freeze as I hear a horse. I pray to whatever god is out there that there is no human with the horse. Of course, I have no luck.

  
An old man is leading a horse that is pulling a wagon that is full of what look to be supply crates. I feel terrible for doing this, but I need to get out of here alive. I draw my sword and jump the poor man. He has a terrified look in his eyes as I quickly mount the horse and cover his mouth with my hand. The poor horse doesn’t even know what to do. Besides, it’s restricted by the cart. It neighs in distress and grit my teeth in irritation.

  
Taking my sword and putting it in front of the man’s throat, I threaten, “Stay silent and nothing will go wrong. All you need to do is get me out of this castle without alerting anyone. One wrong move and you’re dead. Got it?”

  
Whimpering, he agrees. I cautiously dismount the horse while trying to keep my sword leveled at him. Slowly, I climb into the cart and watch him work as I fill with regret about what I just did.

  
Can’t dwell much on it now. The past is the past and I had to do this to avoid being killed by that Berkut dude.

  
After unloading all of his cargo, the old man comes back with the crates that I cracked open and starts telling me, “Okay, so I’ll be hiding you with these crates and the fruit that fell out. As a merchant that serves the royals here, I can dispose of anything that might harm those royals. Since these fruits have spilled on the ground I can tell the guards that some fruit wasn’t properly packaged and fell out. If they ask why I’m removing them, I’ll tell them how the fruits would’ve started to rot already due to air exposure from indecent packaging. Rotting fruit helps attract fruit flies, something that no one wants in their fruit. They should buy it since many guards here aren’t they well-read, That is the best I can do.”

  
His reasoning seems logical so I reply, “That’s fine. If your act doesn’t work, I’ll handle the guards myself and take the blame if we fail. Thank you for doing this.”

  
“Don’t thank me yet,” he says as he starts to arrange and crates and fruits before strategically lying blue blanket on top.

  
Soon, we have set off. I hide under the blue blanket barely moving. While we move, I can feel every bump of the wagon as it rolls over what would usually be tiny, insignificant pebbles. It is quite uncomfortable, but I do not move or make a sound. The cart slows down after a few minutes.

  
“Excuse me sir, but we would like to ask you why you are bringing out crates.”

  
“Ah, well you see those crates I found slightly open, probably from inadequate packaging. Some of the fruit was left on the ground as well, so perhaps animals got to them. Upon inspecting them, I found some had started rotting and attracted fruit flies. I am taking them away to take away the risk of any of this fruit making its way to Lord Berkut. Wouldn’t want a single rotten fruit to bring down the health of such an important man.”

  
“Very smart of you. Now, one last question. Why is that blue blanket there? I’m sure it has nothing to do with these fruits.”

  
I stiffen underneath the blanket, not daring to breathe or move. Please, old man, don’t let me be caught I pray.

  
“That old thing? That is a gift from my wife to keep me warm if I ever get cold. I just put it back there to try and mask the smell from the fruit flies. I was going to wash it anyway, so why not use it?”

  
The guard or guards say nothing, and soon the wagon is moving again. The old man pulls away and heads down what seems like a bumpy road, at least that’s what I guess as my body keeps getting jostled when the wagon runs over some larger than average rocks. I am relieved when the old man stops after what seems like and few hours off being tossed around. He barely is able to dismount his cart and walk back to me before I leap off the cart and run into a bush and puke.  
Once I finish emptying whatever was left in my stomach, I walk over to the old man. In his hands are some fruit from the crates and a canteen of water.

  
Shocked by his kindness I say, “You don’t have to do that. I don’t deserve that after holding a sword to your throat.”

  
“Hmmm well, even so, you should take these and eat them because you wouldn’t want to walk around with vomit smelling breath. I’m too kind of a soul to let you do that. Anyway young one, I forgave you anyway.”

  
“What! Why!” I exclaim heavily shocked.

  
He has a wistful look in his eyes as he stares at me while explaining, “As soon as you held that sword to my throat, I could tell by your voice that you are desperate. You must be extremely desperate to attack someone like that given your more docile and caring personality.”

  
_He actually could deduct all of that from that one incident?_ So I challenge him back, “Oh really? That’s what you assumed about me, but what if I’m not like that?”

  
“How you act proves my theory. You don’t act like any brigand I’ve seen for one. Two, you went along pretty easily with me telling you what to do, no something an aggressive person would do. Lastly, just the way you acted right now when I tried to offer you things, you act humble and down to earth. I’m guessing demanding people to do things after holding a sword to their throat isn’t a common occurrence for you.”

  
Well, he kind of makes sense and he isn’t wrong. At his last sentence, I shake my head side to side. After seeing my answer, he continues on, “You seemed pretty desperate back there like you were running from a life or death situation…”

  
_Shit is he like a seer or something?! This is ridiculous._ I sit there dumbfounded and a little spooked and reply, “No comment.”

  
He nods and turns his head with no questions asked. Once again, he offers me the food and water and I take it. I didn’t realize how hungry I was I think as I devour an apple. The sweetness of the apple feels so delightful. I give my thanks to the old man before standing up and telling him, “Thank you for being so generous and kind, but I really must be going. I wish you good luck with the rest of your life.”

  
“And you too,” he replies, handing me a sack of stuff to go.

  
I push the sack back into his hands, “I can’t take this. You’ve been too kind to me already.”

  
With surprising strength, his pushes the sack into my arms and says, “Take it. Food supply around these parts is low and I have nothing much to do with the massive amount of fruit in these crates.”

  
Accepting his offering, I bow and thank him again before wandering into the large expanse of forest.

 

~five hours later~

 

 _Holy crap my feet are falling off. How long have I been walking and where the heck am I? I am on the edge of collapse from hunger… That food back there is the only food I’ve had in two days. Should I eat another apple? I don’t know how much longer I will be walking_. In the distance, I hear a howl and I start sprinting. Keep on running, keep on running I repeat in my head, all traces of previous exhaustion gone.

  
I fly through the night. Once I come off my adrenaline high I collapse. With the minimal amount of energy I have left, I crawl over to a fallen tree in hopes of some cover. My tired limbs barely carry me there before I black out.

  
What I hope is the next morning and not the morning after, I awaken to the sound of people. By the sound of them, they seem like a large group, so I get up and try and find cover. A little ways off, there is a large tree I hope to hide behind. I shuffle to the side I believe is the opposite of the voices I hear. Scanning around, I see to my left is a large clearing. I am almost out of this forest I think excited. The group walks behind me and into the clearing. They are laughing and talking about something, so I sneak closer to listen, trying to stay downwind.

  
“Didja get a look at the wench we nabbed this morning? Hoo-ee!”

 

“She’ll certainly add some color to that run-down old shrine! Gar har har!”

  
“Gar har har! She’s prettier’n the boss, that’s for sure!”

  
Revolted, I gag. Unsure of what to do, I lie in wait. Just to be careful, I draw my sword, either for defending myself of attacking them. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see two men running toward the brigands.

  
The green haired one yells, “Hold it, you lecherous pigs!” as the other yells at him, “Alm? Let’s just be calm and… Alm?! Alm, wait, don’t —”

  
I giggle at the sight of the men since the red-haired one seems to act like they’re the caretaker of the other. Unfortunately, since I snuck closer, my giggle, which apparently sounded way louder than I thought, attracts the attention of the brigands. At this point, the brigands have drawn their weapons and one of them asks both of us, “Huh? Who the hell are you?”

  
Ignoring his question, the green haired one demands, “Release the woman you’re holding at once, or else!”

  
The brigand starts laughing at his demand and threatens him, “Ya must really want a knife in the belly if yer slingin’ taunts at the likes of us.”

  
Sick of his attitude, I jump up and sprint at the man. I am way too fast for any of the brigands to catch me before I slash the man’s stomach. Across from me, the red-haired man gives an exasperated look and mumbles, “So much for laying low…” before calling, “To arms, everyone!”


End file.
